"You know, Helo, you keep spending this much time over here, we're going to start thinking you're defecting to the Pegasus crew."

He offers Lee - Commander Adama - a grin and raises a drink to him. Lee invites him to his quarters every trip and they share a drink. They've never been friends, really, and they're not quite enemies, though Helo's involvement with Sharon sets Lee's teeth on edge. He can see the ghosts in Lee's eyes whenever her name comes up, so Karl's damned careful that it never does. Karl was on the farm when his father was in the equipment accident, so he knows what it's like to see your old man spread out in pieces in front of you dying. He doesn't begrudge Lee his hate, he just doesn't know how to make him realize that it's directed at the wrong Sharon.

"As if I'd work for you, sir." Helo finishes off the glass, draining some of the Chief's best stuff straight down his throat. Fire burns along his nerves and he laughs, relaxing slightly, rolling his neck until he can feel the tension release. Lee's got that look in his eyes, the one that flares to life when Helo calls him sir like this, alone and he can't help but smile, the booze not the only thing burning in his belly. "Got better taste than that."

Lee's smile widens and he leans forward, pouring Helo another glass before topping off his own.

There's something strange about this, and Helo's not sure how they got here, though he's pretty sure it started in a fight and ended up this, whatever this is. Easy, mellow, relaxed. They laugh a lot when no one else is around them, laugh at the absurdity of their lives, their situations, the constant step of death at their heels. It's Gods-damned funny if you look at it, and so they do, and they laugh and they drink.

And then, if the Gods are smiling on them, they fall into Lee's bed, tangle up in Cain's old sheets and frak each other senseless, still laughing until there's no laughter left and it's either cry or gasp for breath, panting each other's names.

He tries not to think about it, tries not to think at all as Lee lifts a glass and takes a drink, his throat working as he swallows. Helo stares at the column of flesh and then reaches out, running his thumb from jaw to collar, his other fingers pressed against Lee's nape. Lee's eyelids droop slightly, like he wants to give himself over to the feeling, but he keeps his gaze on Helo, not quite willing to look away.

"You want me to prove it? Sir?"

There's no way to judge who moves first or fastest, just suddenly they're on their knees in the space that used to be between them, Lee's mouth secure and hot against Helo's. Helo's hand is still wrapped around the back of Lee's neck, holding him there, though there's no way Lee's got any intention of leaving if the hand he's sliding along Helo's cock is any indication.

"Frakking promotion," Helo pants when they break for air, his free hand jerking the buttons of Lee's jacket free. "Always in complete frakking uniform."

"Thought you - frak - like a challenge, Agathon." He's biting at Helo's mouth, hungry and sharp. His teeth slide over Helo's skin like a threat, and then close on the flesh, leaving it sore and swollen and leaving Helo groaning into Lee's mouth.

He finally gets Lee's jacket free, shoving the material off his shoulders and onto the floor, leaving it to gravity and Lee's desperation to be free of it around his wrists so he can grab at Lee's tanks, shove them up and off and taste a world of smooth, supple skin.

Lee groans, the sound melting into Helo's kiss again as he guides Lee down to the floor, haste and need making them a tumble of limbs and laughter, Lee's soft chuckle changing into a real laugh as Helo skims Lee's sides with his fingers, grazing over the spots he knows drive Lee crazy.

"Frak, Helo." Lee shoves at Karl's hands pushing them away from his skin, never succeeding in moving them far as Karl settles over Lee, silencing the soft huffs of laughter with another kiss.

Lee's hands leave Karl's wrists, no longer pushing him away as they work instead at Karl's uniform, buttons and cloth pushed away, Lee's fingers snaking to find skin of their own. Karl laughs against Lee's lips as Lee finds the spot just below Helo's ribcage, the one he knows doubles Helo over when touched, tickled.

He growls at Lee amidst the laughter, catching Lee's wrists and pinning them to the floor. "Gods-damn, Apollo," Helo leans in and purrs the words against Lee's ear, nipping the lobe with his teeth. "You tryin' to get a rise out of me?"

Lee thrusts up, the hard curve of his cock sliding along Helo's. "From where I'm at, Agathon, I already have."

He groans, the sound not remotely aroused and bites quickly at Lee's neck, barely hard enough to leave a mark. "No puns, Adama, or I'm headed straight back for the Raptor." His hand slides down Lee's bare chest, down to his pants, unfastening the belt and fly, fingers teasing beneath the fabric, belying his words.

"The way I see it," Lee's voice is thick, husky with want as Helo wraps his hand around Lee's cock. He works his own hand between them, finding Helo's cock as well, rubbing it through his pants. "I was being very literal." "Shut up, Adama." Helo laughs again, leaning in to silence Lee with another kiss. He closes his eyes, just feels Lee stroke him smooth and hard.

Their first time had been a comedy of errors - fumbling embarrassment and uncertainty - both drunk and scared and hurting, both needing something and finding it in the most unlikely place of all.

That night Lee had set the course, turning over onto his hands and knees. Helo had frozen and then felt his way, knowing somehow - from Starbuck? From Zak? - that Lee didn't like to lose control, didn't like to be seen with his defenses down.

Since then, through dares and demands and sheer size, Karl's had Lee on his back, spread and sprawled in front of him like a lover, an ally. Someone Lee trusts. Lee still closes his eyes, but Karl knows from the soft chorus of words Lee whispers that it's the delusion of self-preservation and nothing more.

Too many drills and real life situations make disposing of clothing easy. Hands twist and turn and push at fabric, hips pull back only to thrust forward again, closer, harder, bare. They know each other now, move together in ways that used to be foreign, but are like pre-flight checks, routine in some ways, but life saving in others.

Karl reaches for the bottle of Ambrosia on the table. One of the things no one ever mentions is the smooth thickness of the drink, the slippery surface of its touch. He pours a measure on his hand, palm and fingers then curving around Lee's cock.

Lee moans and his hips rise off the floor. He's thrusting and then they're thrusting as Helo fits his own cock against Lee's, against the pressure of his hand.

"Frak," Lee whispers and Helo wonders briefly if the Gods accept every prayer, even those offered up like this. Maybe especially those offered up like this.

Lee's hands curve around Helo's neck, draw him down. It's a victory, Helo thinks, the moments like this when nothing else exists, where what little is left of their world is locked away and it's flesh and lips and their tenuous bond stretched taut until it nearly snaps, released just seconds before too late when he feels Lee's body pulse, feels his own jerk hard in response. Feels heat and wet and…

"What the frak is so funny, Commander?" He glares down at Lee beneath him; frown deepening at every jolt of amusement from Lee's soft laughter.

"Nothing," Lee assures him, struggling for sobriety and failing even faster in the face of Helo's annoyance. "It's just…"

"What?"

He gestures between them and laughs again, his hips rolling up against Helo's. "Just wondering if this is what everyone meant when they said commanding Pegasus would make me a drunken frak or a frakking drunk."

Helo groans and pulls away, angling to his feet. "I warned you about the puns, Adama."

Lee lets Helo help him to his feet, still smiling, still amused. "A word of advice, Helo? The threat loses something after you get when you came for."

"I'll keep that in mind for next time, Sir." He grins at Lee and tosses him his tanks. "And so should you."